Of Crying Babies and Picture Fixing
by SomethingMoreCreative
Summary: Jason knows how his son feels. He wants to cry too when Piper is gone. In which, Piper and Annabeth head out on a "quest" and leave Jason and Percy to fend for themselves and their kids. The problem is, Percy is way better at this than Jason. One shot. Complete.


**A/N: This is a one shot that I wrote for a request from tumblr. If you would like to leave me a request, my tumblr ask box is probably the best place to do that. The link is on my profile. **

**This is a Jasper one shot. All of these are my headcanons. If you want to talk to me about them (or if you want to talk about your own headcanons) then head over to my tumblr and leave it there! I can respond easier there. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, _****or anything else that you may recognize. **

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Jason was getting seriously tired of the crying. He wasn't sure why Payton wouldn't just go to sleep. His kid _never _cried this much.

It had been about eight years post-war. That was how Jason characterized his life now. Post-Mom. Post-praetor. Post-Piper. Post-war. And now, post-Payton.

After the war had finally ended, Jason and Piper had grown closer and closer. Their relationship had been perfect for him at the beginning, but once all of the fear and stress had been removed from their lives, they realized that they were in love and that they wouldn't go back for anything. They got married about six years after the war. Piper got pregnant one year later. And now Payton was one year old. Things were good.

Well, except for the part with Payton crying like a freight train. That was most definitely not good.

See, Jason just wasn't used to it. Whenever Piper was around, their kid _never _cried. And why would he? Even without her charmspeak there was just something about her. Hell, when she was gone, Jason felt like crying too. He didn't blame Payton. This sucked.

Piper was gone on a "quest" with Annabeth and Hazel. They said that they were going to "help the Hunters of Artemis with a problem," but Jason had begun to doubt their motives when Piper had stuff her purple bikini down into her duffel bag. Why would she need that if she was going to be fighting monsters? But Jason hadn't said anything. He had just smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and let her run off with Annabeth, yelling that they would be there waiting for her when she got back.

She needed to come back now.

Jason checked his watch again. She had been gone for three hours. He hit his head against the floor.

"Payton," Jason begged, lifting his head up and drawing their one year old son into his arms for the four-_thousandth_ time. "Please, baby, stop crying. I miss Mommy too, but she's not going to come back just because we're crying."

Payton stopped for a second and stared at Jason with electric blue eyes. Sometimes Jason wished that he would have gotten Piper's eyes, but Piper loved the blue. Jason's son tipped his head to the side slightly, and Jason smiled down at him.

Then the kid burst into tears again.

Jason sighed and rolled over so his back was against the floor. He held Payton to his chest and let him cry because he just didn't know what to do. He had already tried _everything_.

About ten minutes later (Payton was still crying, and there was no end in sight), Jason's phone rang. He tried not to shuffle Payton on top of his chest as he held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked, barely glancing at the caller ID.

"You guys don't sound very good."

Jason sat up, cradling Payton against him as he tried to speak over the crying. He said, "Percy, you've got to help me. I don't know what to do. He _never _cries like this, and it's just because she's not here."

Percy hummed and shouted something that Jason didn't catch. He spoke into the phone and said, "You're in luck then. Grab his jacket and hat and get over here. Luke and Sophia just built a pillow fort, and I'm about to get Chase up before we have dinner."

Jason thanked the _gods. _He slowly got up from the floor and shifted Payton to his other shoulder, "Thank gods. You're saving my life."

"Yeah. Just don't forget his hat! It's really cold out there," Percy said.

"Alright. We'll be over in a few."

"Okay," Percy said, hanging up.

Hurriedly, Jason coaxed Payton into his small jacket and hat. The two items just seemed to make him cry even more, but once Jason had him in his arms again, one of his little hands fisted the material in Jason's shirt.

This is what Jason lived for. Piper and Payton. He loved his family more than anything. And even though he had to travel a lot, he never got enough of waking up to Piper in the morning right after she had gone to get Payton out of his crib. That was the best part of his day.

That's what Percy did too. Except he did it all day every day. Since Percy and Annabeth had gone to college out in New Rome (Jason and Piper had followed them there), Annabeth had landed a job with a really popular architecture firm in New York. They had moved back out to New York to an apartment close to Percy's mom and stepdad. Percy had been working with an aquarium at the time, but once they figured out that Annabeth was pregnant, Percy pulled back and started doing some work from home so he could be a stay at home dad. Jason had asked Percy how it felt to do that, and Percy said that there wasn't a better job for him. He loved to take care of his kids and make Annabeth an awesome dinner after she designed kickass buildings all day. He was living the good life.

And he was _good _at it too. Like, Percy was one of the best dads that Jason had ever seen. His kids were well behaved, but they always seemed to be having a good time. As soon as they were born (like the minute after), Percy seemed to have a hang for knowing exactly what they needed or wanted. Even though their kids loved Annabeth to death, there was something special about their connection with Percy.

Sometimes it made Jason a little jealous. He wasn't sure why he thought that way, but seeing Percy interact with his kids made him feel second best. What if he wasn't good enough for Payton? What if they weren't going to be as close as Percy and his kids? What if—?

Jason stopped that line of thinking. He had a close relationship with Payton. He was going to be fine. Gods, even Percy himself had told him that almost five hundred times when Jason had expressed his insecurities.

As Jason and Payton walked a few blocks down the street to Percy and Annabeth's apartment, he shielded Payton from the wind and the weird looks that they were getting. Which was probably normal. Who let their kid just cry for no reason like that? At least Payton wasn't screaming anymore. He was more or less sniffling a lot and crying a little, sagging against Jason's shoulder and gripping the collar of Jason's shirt.

"We're almost there," Jason said comfortingly, holding Payton a little tighter as he climbed the stairs and buzzed himself in to Percy's building.

Finally, finally, _finally, _Jason knocked on the door, and it was opened by two grinning three year olds.

"UNCLE JASON!" They shouted, pulling on his pant legs.

He laughed at them and leaned dow. He held out his other arm and pulled the both of them into a hug. He said, "What have you guys been doing?"

"Dad was teaching us how to fight!" Luke said, holding up his pretend sword.

"He showed me how to do a cartwheel!" Sophia said. "Do you want to see?!"

Jason grinned, "Of course I do! But where's your dad at?"

"Somewhere in there," Luke said with a wave toward the rest of the apartment. Jason could have probably guessed that, but he didn't need a full-fledged explanation from Luke right now. That kid was too much like Annabeth for his own good.

"Why is Payton crying so much? What did you do to him, Uncle Jason?" Sophia asked, leaning closer to get a better look at Payton. Her black curls framed her face, and Payton looked up at them through his tears.

"Well, I think he misses his mommy, but he'll be okay in a few minutes," Jason said.

Sophia nodded seriously, "Yes. I miss my mommy too, but I'm okay. See, Payton? It's okay!"

Miraculously, Payton stopped crying.

Jason winced when it started back half a second later.

"Okay, little devils," Percy said suddenly, coming out into the living room from the kitchen. He had his other son, Chase (he was almost exactly as old as Payton), in his arms. Chase was being quiet as he looked around the room. He had his little hand pressed flat to Percy's cheek, and he grinned at Jason from across the room. Or maybe it was meant for Jason. He had read somewhere that babies didn't really see that well. "Let Uncle Jason come inside, and go wash your hands. Dinner's ready."

Sophia and Luke both took off down the hallway, racing each other to the bathroom.

"Hey, man," Jason said, getting back to his feet.

Percy frowned at Payton. He said, "Trade babies with me."

If Jason had been in a better mood, he would have laughed. They used to say "trade beers with me, man" or even "trade monsters with me, dude," but now babies took the primary slot.

It was a good life.

Percy carefully handed Chase to Jason, and Jason passed over Payton. It was kind of a relief to have a happy baby in his arms. At least this one wasn't screaming in his ear.

"Man, what did you do to him?" Percy asked, pacing across the floor and running his hand over Payton's back comfortingly while the kid cried his heart out.

"I didn't do anything! Five minutes after Piper left he started crying. I mean, I know that he likes her better, but I didn't know that I was such a bad dad," Jason admitted, making funny faces at Chase, who pinched his nose and giggled.

"Jason, that's not it," Percy said. "Chase cried too until I got him up from his nap. I'm sure Payton is just upset about something else. You're not a bad dad."

Jason sighed and watched as Percy walked around the apartment with Payton. When they got over to the bookcase, the crying stopped.

He snapped his head over to Percy, and he shrugged. Payton was reaching out toward the bookcase, and after a few seconds, Percy leaned forward and snatched a picture off the shelf. He discarded the frame and handed the photo to Payton.

"What did you do?" Jason asked, walking over.

Percy shrugged, "I didn't do anything. I can't believe that you didn't just show him a picture of Piper."

"What the hell?" Jason asked, but he was grinning down at his son in Percy's arms who was gripping the picture of Piper tightly in his little hand. It was a picture that Jason had taken when they were on their honeymoon, and she was standing in front of the car in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She must have given a copy of it to Annabeth. "I didn't even know that it would work!"

Percy rolled his eyes, "Well now you do. Now come on, there's no telling what those three year olds have done to our bathroom. Annabeth will kill me if we have to have it redone again."

So Jason followed Percy down the hallway. He held both Chase and Payton as Percy attempted to control the water damage and get Sophia's hair dried. It was an adventure, and by the time they were eating dinner, it was getting dark outside.

When they all piled up on the couch together to watch _Frozen, _Jason was about ready to go to sleep. Luke and Sophia were sitting together in their pillow fort, and Chase and Payton were already asleep in Chase's crib. Even though Piper and Annabeth weren't here with them, Jason couldn't think of a better family to have or a better way to spend his time. He belonged with these guys as much as he belonged with Piper and Payton. _They _were his family as much as Piper was.

And he wouldn't change any of it.

Ω

Three days later, Jason was laying on the couch (he wasn't asleep) when he jerked (not awake, just up) because he heard the door open. Then he heard her familiar voice mumbling something as she came inside, and he relaxed back onto the cushions, closing his eyes so he could rest.

He was _exhausted. _Single parenting was not for him. Ever since Payton had found that picture of Piper, he had acted like a dream, only crying a few times here and there. And even then Jason could normally calm him down pretty easily. It was fine.

Since they had been on their own, Jason and Percy had teamed up. They always met for dinner, and Jason would distract the twins so Percy could take a shower. Percy had two more kids than Jason did, so Jason did most of the work when they were together. Percy always cooked though, so it equaled out. After dinner they normally watched a Disney movie, and Percy and Jason would have a beer when the twins had gone to bed. It was fun. Percy was fun to fight monsters with, but babysitting was something _else. _

Jason was glad Piper was home. He might like Guys' Night Babysitting (that's what they named it), but having Piper here was way better.

He listened as she walked through the apartment. He had his eyes closed, but he knew when she stopped just over the couch. She pressed her lips to Jason's forehead before she cooed softly and picked Payton up from Jason's chest. He slanted his eyes open just as she was walking away, and he could hear her murmuring softly as she walked down the hallway with their son. Piper walked through the apartment a few more times before she finally crawled onto the couch with him and kissed him.

He moaned against her mouth and opened his eyes. He pushed one of his hands into her hair and ran the other one down her body, pulling her leg up to cradle his hips.

"I missed you," he said against her lips.

She pulled back, and Jason looked up at her. She was as radiant as ever. Her hair was hanging around her face. Her eyes were sparkling happily. She had a small cut on her cheek, and Jason set his fingers on it, but she turned her face to press a kiss to his hand.

She smiled perfectly, "I missed you too. Did Payton miss me?"

Jason groaned suddenly. Piper's eyebrows shot up, but the amused look didn't disappear from her face. He said, "The first day he cried for five hours straight because you weren't here."

"How did you get him to stop crying?" She asked.

"Well, we went to Percy's for dinner, and he found a picture of you. He's held onto it since we got it. He finally let go of it when he fell asleep tonight," Jason said, rubbing a hand down her back.

"Mmm. I missed both of you guys so much," she said, leaning down to give him another kiss.

"Yeah, I just feel bad for Percy because he had all three of his kids there without Annabeth, and I could barely handle Payton when he cried," he admitted.

Piper bit her lip, but she looked like she was holding back a grin. She said, "I need to tell you something."

Jason narrowed his eyes, "What?"

"I'm pregnant."

He was still for half of a second before he put his hand on her neck and yanked her down to his lips. She was laughing, but Jason just pressed his lips harder to hers, smiling as her hands cupped his face.

"Hey," he said, pulling back from her lips. "I love you."

Her smile was brilliant, "I love you too."

"Maybe the next one will be a girl," Jason said, tugging on her shoulders until she was laying down beside him.

She nodded, "Yeah. That would be nice."

Jason let the conversation die. They stayed on the couch for a while, tracing their hands over each other to try and rememorize one another. These past four days had not been the longest that they had been apart, but it had felt like forever to Jason. But now, with Piper here and Payton snoozing in his crib, he was back in one piece.

Then Payton started crying again.

Jason groaned and started to get up, but Piper pecked him on the lips and jumped up before he could.

"I got it," she said, racing down the hallway to Payton's nursery.

And when she came back with him in her arms, speaking softly to him, Jason grinned.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

-**SomethingMoreCreative**


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